Last Friday evening we ate Mexican at El Rancho Grande and came home to watch a show or two we had been saving on the DVR. Saturday was a blessed day at home all day long--at least for me. I was up early to run to Kroger's to get the stuff Evelyn needed for supper. She put her casserole together (an old stand-by, Party Chicken), with instructions about temperature and time for be to get it started.
She and Tammy Weatherly drove to Louisville to attend the funeral service for the mother of a friend and former colleague, Carrie Birmingham. Evelyn taught with her years ago, before Carrie moved to California to teach at Pepperdine, and Tammy and Jon were friends and classmates.
Before she left I peeled and cut up a Crock Pot full of apples with a little brown sugar and cinnamon to make applesauce. It was finished about 3:00 in the afternoon.
While Evelyn was gone, I pulled up my zinnia bed and the tomato plants, dumped out most of the hanging baskets and patio pots, ran the lawn mower over the leafiest areas in the backyard to mulch the leaves, and planted a pot of bulbs that I hope will be glorious next spring. I put away the tomato stakes and all the empty pots, arranging it all in the garage.
I got the idea on the Internet for my bulb garden in a pot:
Fill a large pot with soil within about 11 inches from the top and plant a layer of late-blooming tulips.
Cover with dirt within about 6 inches from the top, plant a layer of daffodils.
Cover with dirt within about 3 inches from the top, and plant a layer of crocus. Finish covering the bulbs with dirt.
The idea is that the crocus will bloom first, and then the daffodils, and then the tulips, making a grand display of springtime color on the patio for several weeks. I hope it works.
I swept the deck, brought some of the deck furniture into the house, and arranged a few cool-hardy plants on the deck for a few more weeks of display before we have winter.
I had bought more bulbs than I could use, so I planted a tulip patch close to the driveway where we'll see them every day as we come and go.
The air was cool, the sun was warm, and it was a wonderful day to get so much done.
I came inside, took a shower, and read a bit while waiting for Tammy and Evelyn to get back. They arrived here a bit later than they planned, but I had turned down the oven to delay the "done" time of the main dish. Evelyn threw some peas in a pot to cook and got the meal on the table quickly. We enjoyed visiting with Tammy for a couple of hours before Evelyn left to ride back home with her, where she'd left our car earlier in the day.
Sunday we were at the first service and then off to brunch and back home early. On the way home, we stopped at Home Depot and bought one more box of gutter guards, which I installed on the last quarter of the house in good time. Evelyn mowed while I worked, and then I finished mowing, edged, and blew off the driveway and sidewalks. I planted my leftover daffodils at the front of the house, looked at my watch, and saw 3:30. "Good, I thought, I still have some time left in the afternoon." When I came inside I realized I hadn't set back my watch (it was Time Change Sunday), and the time was only 2:30! Lots of time left.
So I cleaned up and then tackled a pile of filing that had accumulated over the last couple of months or longer. Not a favorite task, but it was very nice to have the time to tackle it.
Before it got dark, I took some pictures in the backyard. Our beautiful maple tree hadn't lost most of its leaves yet (this week it has), and the Knockout roses were still blooming profusely. It was a good weekend to be home, to be outside, and to be able to get so many jobs done.
